The Spirit of Revenge (41 page)

The defenders behind the gates stepped back fearfully, shields and spears held desperately against what would soon pour through those gates.

As the trolls continued their battery, the armies split again to reveal a wall of Gehets marching onto the city.

However, as they reached the gates, the soldiers on the causeways above noticed a smaller shadow at the front of the procession. Below the flaming beasts a lone figure rode.

In the saddle of a white horse sat a man swathed in black. He raised an armored hand from the folds of his cloak and the Gehets stepped away from the battered gates, grunting with displeasure. The figure rode over the thousands of dead Andreds and held out his hand once more. With a gesture, the ram and wielders were tossed into the air, instantly engulfed in the raging fires.

The archers on the wall shrugged off the man’s display of power and aimed their bows at him. They shot down a massive volley that swallowed him instantly in a cloud of steel. With a burst of light, the arrows exploded, shards flying harmlessly off him. He then pulled a sword from the depths of his cloak, and with a ring of steel, the sounds of battle fell silent.

He thrust his weapon forward and a column of blue light shot towards the gates. The light slammed into the doors with a deafening crunch that shook them to their very core. The man stood undaunted, snow suspended in animation around him.

The archers continued their desperate volley, anything to stem their fates. Yet against such might, their efforts were fruitless.

The man raised his sword and thrust it forward, and with a flash of wind, a brilliant light slammed full force into the gates.

The steel doors blasted off their hinges and shot into the city streets, crashing into the soldiers that filled the road. Their tightly cramped ranks were instantly eviscerated, thousands of men ripped apart and sending their mangled bodies flailing through the air.

As the gates settled over the bodies, a squall of arrows blasted through the open archway, felling hundreds of the now dispersed and terrified soldiers. Once the arrows ceased, the soldiers peered out from their shields to see the lone figure riding through the gateway. Suddenly, a wall of Gehets rushed past him, and from behind them, charged the armies of Andred.

The Alliance quickly raised their shields as the Gehets slammed into them. Their roar filled men’s hearts with dread, the great pillars of fire burning swiftly through the dispersed Alliance. The beasts tore through their front lines, throwing scores of screaming men into the air and sending limbs and entrails flying with every violent swing of their blades.

From behind the Gehets, the armies of Andred rushed forward and crashed into the Alliance.

With the cries of battle, the true fighting began. Bodies tumbled to the earth by the hundreds, blood gushing across the streets as the Andreds plowed mercilessly through their enemy. Rivers of scarlet stained the air and earth below, churning at their knees as the fighting raged on with mindless ferocity.

The mere size of the enemy alone thrust the Alliance swiftly backward. The masses pushed through the city’s defenders, turning the cramped streets into a rampant bloodbath.

The Warriors drew their weapons as the fighting raged below, fear setting silent on their hearts. Grim faced and heavy hearted, they bid farewell.

“This is it,” Joshua said, “everything we’ve done has come down to this. Now who’s first?”

Silas laughed and clapped his brother on the back. “Looks like you,” he jested as he pushed his brother down the stairs. “Now who’s last?” With a brusque salute, he turned and dove into the battle.

Isroc pulled his short swords from their sheaths and twirled them skillfully before approaching the stairs. He turned to the others. “See you on the other side.” With that, he followed the other soldiers down the stairs.

Aaron shrugged to the remaining Warriors. “I feel like I should say something, anything.”

“You’ve said and done it all,” Cain replied, “by being my friend.”

Aaron smiled and shook his friend’s hand before sprinting over the bodies and down the stairs.

“Let’s go, Cain,” Adriel said, pulling on his arm. Cain started forward but Malecai jumped before him and stopped Cain in his tracks.

“What are you-”

“Your obligations have shifted now, Cain Taran. It is not about you and your friends anymore. You must begin a new course, one that you have no choice but to follow.”

Cain looked at him in bewilderment. “What? Is this about the sword? You’re the one who gave me the damn thing!”

Malecai shook his head at this. “I cannot explain the importance of the part you will come to play…but you and you alone must win this war. I am no longer needed.”

Cain pulled his arm away from Malecai’s strong grip and stepped beside Adriel. He peered at his friend through the squall of arrows that roared around them. “No longer…needed?”

Malecai nodded. “I have done my part. The winds of war are changing; it is you that must help in her transformation.”

Cain passed a hand through his hair, struggling to make sense of his friend’s puzzling words. “I don’t understand.”

Malecai returned Cain’s gaze despondently. “I do not expect you to. Follow your feet, Cain, and you will find the right direction.” Their eyes locked as arrows continued to whip around them. “Now,” he said as he raised his sword. “Let us put an end to this war. Let us find the bastard fueling these fires.”

“Find the leader?”

“Aye, we will lose this battle if it continues much longer.” Malecai stepped closer and rested a hand on Cain’s shoulder. “You must realize the power you now have; you must release it if we are to win this war. Let the blood on your hands fill your spirit, for in revenge you shall become the most fearsome of monsters, more wretched than your enemies and more savage in your wrath.”

Adriel’s hand tightened around Cain’s arm as Malecai finished. “I don’t like this…” She whispered. Cain glanced at her, her thin lips pursed with distress.

Cain turned to Malecai. “Let’s go.”

“Good.” Malecai sprinted down the stairs and disappeared into the tides of black.

Cain approached the edge of the stairway and looked over his shoulder. Adriel solemnly returned his gaze. Without a word, he raised Ceerocai and rushed down the steps.

He landed among his enemies and brought the massive sword down over their heads. A dozen Andreds were cleft in two as the monstrous blade ripped through their ranks.

With every swing of the great beast, heads and limbs were ripped from their owners; and with every howling strike, death was dealt. Every effortless swing dropped several Andreds, blackened blood pouring over their killer. Cain rushed forward and carved a path through the endless tide of black that now flowed from the city gates.

The fighting continued in utter depravity, a sea of blood and death now flooding the streets. The Andreds, devoid of all former humanity, fought on silently, tirelessly, and with sheer resolve. The Alliance battled with despair, knowing full well that the end was upon them. The hours slowly drained away as the fighting raged on for the front gate.

An endless river of black surged through the open entrance, splitting the fires that now engulfed the entire south wall of Morven. The Andreds charged recklessly into their foes, hacking and cutting violently through every frightened man. Bodies littered the streets amid a sea of blood that now gushed through every inch of the city, torrents of blood and entrails tossed about the legs of the combatants.

Boulders continued to fly over the walls and crash through buildings. Homes and buildings exploded with every clash, raining rubble down on the battling armies. Undiscerning between Andred and men, hundreds of bodies were crushed beneath the debris, screams silenced on the stone below.

The overwhelmed Alliance finally wavered, and every man turned and ran from the bloodbath. Soldiers broke formation and turned their backs on the enemy, fleeing down the streets in madness.

Oceans of Arzecs burst from the throngs and washed over the retreating men, bringing them to the ground before plunging their fangs into their victims. The Andreds fought through the carnage and gave chase to their fleeing prey.

Thousands of men retreated down the market road, screams of horror filling the wartorn skies. Amid such violence, their end was certain.

The Warriors sprinted through the crowds and fought their way through the attacking Arzecs.

Joshua rushed toward a kneeling Arzec and swung his great-axe, cleaving the beast in two. He ran towards the downed soldier to help him. The man wailed in agony, clawing at the entrails that gushed from his stomach. Joshua tore his gaze from the dying man and stumbled over him.

An Arzec suddenly leapt on his back and dug its fangs into his neck. He howled with pain and spun around, swinging his axe wildly into the oncoming hordes.

Silas’s Sitar shot from the masses and embedded itself in the Arzec. The creature flew from Joshua’s back and Silas rushed forward and pulled his weapon from the Arzec. Together, the brothers plunged their weapons into its chest.

Joshua raised his bloody axe and swung it at a charging Arzec. The blade sliced through its stomach, and he lifted the beast from the ground, raising it above his head as blood poured down on him. With a fearsome bellow, he swung the Arzec into the masses and charged forward. Together, the two Warriors hacked through the enemy, reaping slaughter among the silent Andreds.

Silas stabbed his Sitar forward, plunging it into the face of an onrushing Andred. Using the momentum, he spun himself into the air and over the Andred. He ripped the head from the Andred and impaled his weapon through another. Like a deadly dance, he spun and weaved through the enemy, steel flashing about him in a pirouette of blood.

Aaron hacked his way through a group of Arzecs and passed Silas, screaming, “We have to get out of here! The city’s overrun!”

Silas and Joshua reluctantly withdrew and turned their backs on the battle. The three men sprinted down the market road and wove their way through the vast city with thousands of Andreds close on their heels.

Adriel burst from a corner road, a group of Arzecs close on her heels. She screamed for her friends as the hordes enclosed. The men continued their retreat, unable to help her.

Suddenly a boulder crashed overhead and slammed into a tower. The building blasted apart, hurtling debris over the city. Joshua, Aaron, and Silas darted through the raining wreckage and burst out the other side as the tower’s remains settled along the road.

Adriel continued forward undeterred and bound nimbly up the rubble, firing arrows into the pursuing Andreds as she climbed higher and higher. She shot a final arrow into the masses, embedding a broad head into the face of an Andred. She turned and flipped gracefully onto the other side and slid down towards her friends.

Together, the four followed the Alliance deeper into the city as the armies of Andred began to trickle through the side roads and over the rubble, soon encompassing half the city.

Vastly outnumbered in the city’s slums, Cain fought desperately against the encircling Andreds.

“Cain!” a voice called out from the chaos. Cain searched for the source of the call and found Malecai yards away, swinging his sword wildly about him. Cain fought through the Andreds and soon reached his friend.

Malecai swung his sword low, hewing the legs from an Arzec before bringing his sword down over it. He spun and swung his weapon up, cleaving the torso of an Andred in two. He lurched forward and stabbed his sword into the face of another, blood and brain exploding forth as the sword shot through its skull. He wrenched the massive blade from the body and beckoned Cain to follow. Together, the two men tore through the Andreds and up the main road.

Malecai suddenly sped up and rushed towards the back of a Gehet. He threw his sword and the blade tumbled over itself before shooting into the beast’s back. The Gehet fell to its knees and Malecai rushed up its back and pulled the sword from its spine before leaping through the flames and swinging it again, breaking off two of its horns. He plunged his sword into the creature’s skull, rending its helm asunder with a spurt of dark blood.

The creature crashed to the earth and Malecai grabbed the broken horns from the ground and plunged them into each of the Gehet’s eyes, silencing it instantly.

“How did you do that?” Cain cried as Malecai yanked his sword from the bloody mess. Malecai simply smirked and gestured for him to follow.

The two Warriors fled the battlefield and ran for several minutes, flames and debris raining down around them. Malecai grabbed Cain and dove for the shadow of a building. The men paused for a moment and watched as a group of Andreds ran past, giving chase to several terrified men. “Come on,” Malecai urged.

They turned and ran for the shadows, weaving their way through the maze of buildings and streets. The sounds of battle slowly faded into the distance as they continued through the slums. They soon came to the docks and paused to catch their breath.

“Where are they retreating to anyways?” Cain asked through haggard breaths.